Columbia 2

Once Again They Want To Change Colombian Journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina’s Route

Inconceivable branded a “terrorist” by the US, they diverted the Air France he was traveling on so it wouldn’t cross over US territory. Now, for the same reason, they made him change flights before boarding.

By Marina Mendez Quintero
May 27 2009 00:25:17 GMT

A CubaNews translation.
Edited by Walter Lippmann.

Because we have become accustomed to living with an arrogance that has triggered two wars, it doesn’t surprise us that Washington has allotted itself the prerogative of including countries, organizations or innocent people in its “terrorist” lists.

But what is really unbelievable and is apparently an escalade into the absurd is that one of those people (without even having been notified of such charges!) has been forced in two consecutive instances to change the course of a trip because he “has been forbidden” to fly over United States territory.

Mind you, we are not talking about touching or stepping on [US soil]: it is simply the act of passing a thousand feet above it. Even when the subject- of course, unarmed! – and, without looking down, is only reading a newspaper, comfortably sitting in an airplane.

Now, sitting in front of the reporter, with that clear and candid smile that always accompanies the Colombian journalist and researcher Hernando Calvo Ospina, “the defendant” is still surprised.

“Nobody understands it, and I still do not understand it. I can not understand how they came up with this “level of hazard”, they have assigned me.

The first time was April 18 last, and the news spread like wildfire, turning into a scandal. Perhaps you read it in this same newspaper: an Air France plane full of passengers, in a Paris-Mexico route, had to change course in mid-flight because the U.S. did not allow it to fly across its territory. The reason they gave was that one of the passengers was a person who constituted “a threat to its national security”.

The change of course happened when we were reaching Mexico. It lengthened the trip and took the passengers to an unexpected excursion to Martinique. This was because the fuel they had was not enough to take all those turns and the plane had to be refueled. Some children got sick and vomited, and many adults arrived finally in Mexico with leg cramps.

The person most surprised was Calvo Ospina himself when they told him he was the cause of the detour. He was the ‘unwelcome” person in the air above the U.S.

The worst thing is that this strange situation repeated itself, more or less the same, a few days ago.

He was traveling to Havana from Paris, where he resides, and three hours before boarding the phone rang. ‘Hernando Calvo Ospina? This is Air France calling. We can not let you board the plane because it will pass through U.S. airspace to enter Cuba’. These were more or less the words they used.

They changed the tickets and “sent” him via Madrid.

Calvo Ospina now wonders whether Air France gives U.S. authorities the passenger lists of its company’s flights that will cross U.S airspace.

– What will you do when you get back to Paris?

– First, I have to ask Air France for an explanation. But I think I will sue them and-most importantly- the United States on the issue of my image.

– How do you feel, a man like you, who has fought terrorism for so long, and is now in one of those lists?

– Look, it’s a very difficult situation because one already knows what they could do: put me in prison, torture me. But, the thing is. You think: What did I do that was so bad? I’ve never shot a gun! I have spoken with the French authorities, and they also do not understand it. I can not understand it either. Are there other games going on under the table to put pressure on someone through me? Where or whom? It is the first time in the history of Air France that this happens, there is no precedent.

“French authorities also did not understand that the course of the plane was altered when president Obama was meeting with almost all Latin American presidents (Summit of the Americas), and told them: ‘We are going to change our ways, we will respect. “

– Why do you think you were included?

– What I have been able to find out from colleagues and friends, is that there seems to be four reasons: the articles I have published against the Colombian government, the articles I’ve done against the U.S. policy towards Latin America, my relationships and interviews with the leaders of Colombian guerrillas, and my relations with countries ‘hostile’ to the U.S.

“Now, I do not know which Latin American countries are hostile to the U.S., because what I do know is that the U.S. is the one who has been hostile to several Latin American countries. But I do not think that these four “reasons” are enough to justify all the things that happened.”

I did not ask him what route he will use to return to France … In any case, Hernando Calvo Ospina has a clear conscience. His only arsenals are the dozens of articles where he has denounced many of the White House dirty policies, and a dozen books in which he speaks of a real terror: the one successive U.S. administrations wage against Latin America.

The Colombian rock duo Aterciopelados will play in Cuba next November

In the three interviews that I have done with Aterciopelados in recent years, the Colombian rock duo repeated like a mantra their desire to perform in Cuba. Finally, they will succeed in November when they will lead, together with Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux, the roster of the Patria Grande Festival to be held in Havana and other provinces from 17 to 26 next month. The duo, composed of vocalist and composer Andrea Echeverri and bassist and also composer, Hector Buitrago, will premiere new themes on the island and perform the classics of their repertoire included on the DVD Reluciente, re­chi­nante y aterciopelado (Gleaming, Screechy and Velvety) (2016).

Aterciopelados has a 20 year-plus career, seven studio albums and a handful of songs like “Bolero Falaz” and “Florecita Rockera”, which have become cult themes for their thousands of followers on the Latin scene.

These Colombians, responsible for the expansion of Latin rock on the international stage during the 1990s, will come to Havana after taking part in a historic moment for their country and Latin America. The duo went on stage a few days ago at a concert in Bogota to celebrate the peace agreements between the Government of José Manuel Santos and the FARC-EP.

“It was a great privilege to be part of this historic moment for the country; we were very excited. We all cried, it was emotional, but there was always the specter of what might happen in the plebiscite. Now the question is how to avoid this pitfall; that will be the ultimate test of the dialogue: the real ability to agree among abysmally opposed thoughts,” said Andrea about the triumph of the NO in the plebiscite, in this new interview with Granma, responding by e-mail together with her companion, Héctor Buitrago.

Since its foundation, Aterciopelados has taken sides for the end of the war in Colombia. What did it mean to you to have witnessed the peace agreements?

Andrea: We’ve spent sad and confused days. After being present and excited at the signing of the agreement between the Government and the FARC-EP, the YES lost in the referendum. Without fully understanding the implications of this setback yet, we think that despite the frustration, the conditions for dialogue and peace have been built anyway. The FARC-EP have said that their only weapons will be words, and the government has confirmed that another agreement will be sought that would be agreeable to the majority of Colombians.

Did you think that these agreements would someday materialize?

Andrea: We were really losing hope because the conflict has lasted practically since we were born; there were several attempts and no agreement had been reached. In some way, we became desensitized.

In several of our past interviews you have told me about your interest in playing in Cuba and you will fulfill that wish during the Patria Grande Festival dedicated to great female voices of the region. What are your expectations in those upcoming concerts which, coincidentally, will be held on this historic moment?

Andrea: – We are happy to go to Cuba, happy to accompany female singing, and despite the results, we remain committed to a life project, with an ideology, with a pacifist lyricism of gender, ancestral and ecological.

You’ve just released the CD DVD “Reluciente”. What stage of Aterciopelados does this album summarize?

Hector: It’s a retrospective. It is the celebration of our mileage; it’s like suddenly looking at the past through the eyes of those for whom our songs have been important, and to feel happy, honored, and grateful. And to also feel willing to see it as a new beginning, to continue learning and finding new stuff, errors and bets, wins and losses, risks and creation.

What differences do you perceive between the current Latin scene which gave birth to the band and the present?

Hector: It has grown a lot, the infrastructure, the technical and musical level have greatly improved, which is reflected in the large number and diversity of bands and projects currently on the scene.

Do you feel that Latin rock bands have lost the social activism that, for example, has always characterized Aterciopelados?

Andrea: I think that political militancy should not be imposed. We found it on the road, and it has accompanied us, nurtured us, and strengthened us. But I also feel that it should not be imposed, should not be forced upon; sometimes you want to denounce, criticize, sometimes you’re angry, but sometimes you feel serene and want to dance, sometimes you’re even in love, and you have to write about what you feel and respect that which you are breathing and express it.

In the new album there is the theme “RE”. Can it be seen as a tribute to the eponymous album Café Tacuba?

Hector: Yes it can. The song came up because Ruben himself, the singer of Cafe Tacuba, asked Andrea how Aterciopelados could contribute to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the “RE” album. So Andrea decided to write that song.

The Duo has always maintained a strong stance in favor of women’s rights. Do you think discrimination against women in Latin America has decreased?

Andrea: I think we have certainly conquered spaces, but there’s still a long way to go. There’s too much inequality, too much patriarchal structure dominating the scene. In fact I think the hyper-sexualization and trivialization of culture (sexualized capitalism, reggaeton, pole-dancing in gyms and, in general, the realm of appearance over substance), has resulted in a setback in some respects. Furthermore, it has strengthened the vision of women as sex objects (a small piece of meat with a barbie-song complex, as we sing in “Oye mujer”), and the impoverishment of the many subtle dimensions of femininity.

What are you working on now after releasing “Reluciente”?

Hector: The idea is to make a new record in 2017. We have material from our solo albums “Conector” and “Ruiseñora”, each in its own house, but the idea is also to compose collectively.

The band has always experimented with rock and the native sounds of Colombia and Latin America. Will you keep that creative spirit in your next albums?

Andrea: The idea is that the high-risk creative spirit is never lost. We have included not only rock and folklore, but also electronics, reggae, disco, blues, music from the Atlantic, music from the Pacific, beach and mountain music; we have even mixed different things in one song, we welcome everything that comes our way, even reggaeton!!! I would love to make anti-reggaeton reggaeton.

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